Govt to come up with Rs 840-cr plan to check marine plastic pollution

Karnataka government will soon come up with a comprehensive system to stop the flow of plastic to the sea and also set up a green wall of 200 km along the coast to act as a wind breaker as part of a World Bank-assisted programme.

The Rs 840-crore programme was announced in the state budget in 2022-23 after studies highlighted the dangers of marine plastic pollution. India contributes 60% of the 220 million tonnes of plastic dumped into oceans every year.

Karnataka, which has a 320-km coastline, has 16 rivers and 34 estuaries run to the sea, carrying tonnes of plastic. A ‘Rapid Assessment of the Blue Economy Potential in Karnataka’ released in 2021 by the College of Fisheries noted that plastic pollution poses a direct threat to marine wildlife at a time when unsustainable fishing has already led to decline in fish yield.

“The percentage growth in value has dropped significantly as compared to a moderate drop in percentage growth in value during 2018-19. This indicates that the increased fishing effort is not yielding commensurate increase in value. It is also important to note that trash fish and low-value-bycatch are increasingly being landed,” it noted.

Officials from the Environment and Forest Department have finalised a pre-feasibility report after a holding meetings with Urban Development and Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Departments.

“When it comes to plastic, the idea is to put in place a system that ensures collection, segregation and processing of plastic is incentivised,” a senior official said, adding that stopping the plastic at source will complement the efforts to clean up the legacy waste.

The plan includes surveying of legacy plastic in seashores, river front and waste disposal sites. Installing barriers at strategic places to catch plastics in the rivers before they reach the ocean. At the micro level, incentivising depositing of used bottles, reduce plastic waste from fishing boats, giving discounts to fisherman for exchanging worn-out nets.

“The plan has received in-principle approval from the government. A detailed project report will be placed before the government. It will be implemented in the coming financial year,” the official added.